The Utility of History

Avril Lavigne said it well, "Its all been done before." Technology does change, presenting the appearance of change, but the basic vices of man have been with us as long as man has walked the earth. The goodness as well as the baseness of men has been with us all along. Man's innovations, meanness, sources of joy, and good acts vary little over time.

The more one reads the less surprise there is in the world around, it is inhabited by men. It is the sameness of behaviors, thoughts, actions, motives over time.

That very sameness is sustained through the fabric of culture. It influences our every waking moment, though invisible. We don't often think why we do what we do, but our cultural learning, indeed our language guides our behaviors. The very notion that we have the capacity to change another culture is sheer fantasy. You might just as well try to lever the world off its orbit.